-. . _.. 


THE   UNIVERSITY 

OF   ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

M35c 


nmtois  historical  shaft 


DE  CELORON'S  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  OHIO 


IN  i749 


BY 


O.   H.  MARSHALL 


Reprinted  from  the  Magazine  0/  American  History,  March,   1S7S 


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EXPLANATION  OF  THE  MAP 

The  map  prefixed  is  a  reduced  photographic  copy  of  a  part  of  Father  Bonne- 
ramp's  manuscript  map  of  the  route  of  de  Celoron's  Expedition,  now  deposited 
in  the  Archives  of  the  Dcpartemtnt  de  la  Marine  in  Paris. 

£>  Indicates  the  places  where  leaden  plates  were  buried. 
%    Points  where  latitudes  and  longitudes  were  observed. 
£B  Sites  of  Indian  villa: 

t^  The  degrees  of  longitude  are  west  of  the  meridian  of  Paris,  and  are  indicated 

by  the  figures  in  the  outer  division  of  the  scales  on  the  eastern  and  western  ex- 
tremities of  the  map.     Those  on  the  inner  divisions  are  leagues,  in  the  proportion 


of  20  to  a  degree. 


42G908 


DE  CELORON'S    EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO   IN    1749 

THE  extensive  territory  lying  between  the  Ohio  River  and  Lake 
Erie  has  been  the  theatre  of  many  remarkable  historical  changes. 
Its  earliest  inhabitants  left  no  record  of  their  origin  or  history, 
save  in  the  numerous  tumuli  which  are  scattered  over  its  surface,  bear- 
ing trees  of  the  largest  growth,  not  distinguishable  from  the  adjacent 
forest.  Measured  by  the  extent  and  character  of  those  vast  structures, 
the  race  that  built  them  must  have  been  intelligent  and  populous. 
When  and  how  they  disappeared,  we  know  not.  Whether  they  were 
directly  succeeded  by  the  present  race  of  Indians,  or  by  an  intermediate 
people,  are  questions  to  which  history  gives  no  answer.  When  La  Salle 
discovered  the  Ohio  he  found  it  in  the  occupation  of  the  red  man,  who 
claimed  possession  and  ownership  over  the  territory  comprised  within 
the  limits  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  Ohio  and  Indiana,  until  the  close 
of  the  last  century.  His  villages  were  on  every  stream,  and  his  hunting 
grounds  embraced  every  hill  and  valley. 

The  attractions  of  the  fur  trade  stimulated  Eastern  adventurers  to 
penetrate,  from  time  to  time,  the  forest  recesses  of  the  West,  and  glow- 
ing descriptions  were  reported  of  the  fertile  soil,  mineral  wealth  and 
the  abundance  of  the  fur-bearing  animals.  It  was  not  until  England  and 
France,  the  two  great  rival  Powers  of  Europe,  became  impressed  with 
the  prospective  growth  and  value  of  the  territory,  and  each  prepared  to 
grasp  the  coveted  prize,  that  the  native  owners  of  the  soil  began  to  take 
serious  alarm.  On  the  one  side,  England  claimed  to  the  northern  lakes, 
while  France  asserted  ownership  not  only  as  far  south  as  the  Ohio,  but 
over  all  the  lands  drained  by  its  extensive  tributaries. 

The  treaty  of  Aix  la  Chapelle,  to  which  both  of  those  powers  were 
parties,  while  it  terminated  a  long  and  sanguinary  war  in  Europe,  left 
many  subjects  of  controversy  still  unsettled.  Among  them  were  the 
boundaries  between  the  French  and  English  in  America.     At  the  con- 


*^ 


130  DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO 

elusion  of  that  treaty  England  lost  no  time  in  initiating  measures  for 
the  occupation  and  colonization  of  the  disputed  territory,  and  encour- 
aged the  formation  of  the  Ohio  Company  as  one  of  the  efficient  means 
for  accomplishing  that  purpose.  Half  a  million  of  acres  were  granted 
by  the  Crown  to  that  association,  to  be  selected  mainly  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Ohio,  between  the  Monongahela  and  Kanawha  rivers.  This  was 
coupled  with  the  condition  that  settlements,  protected  by  suitable  forts, 
should  be  established  on  the  grant.  The  French  were  equally  alive  on 
the  subject,  and  the  demonstrations  of  the  English  aroused  the  attention 
of  the  Marquis  de  la  Galissoniere,  a  man  of  eminent  ability  and  fore- 
thought, who  was  then  Governor  of  Canada.  In  order  to  counteract 
the  designs  of  the  English,  he  dispatched  Captain  Bienville  de  Celoron,1 
a  chevalier  of  the  order  of  St.  Louis,  in  command  of  a  detachment, 
composed  of  eight  subaltern  officers,  six  cadets,  an  armorer,  twenty  sol- 
diers, one  hundred  and  eighty  Canadians,  thirty  Iroquois  and  twenty-five 
Abenakis,  with  orders  to  descend  the  Ohio,  and  take  possession  of  the 
country  in  the  name  of  the  King.  The  principal  officers  under  him  were 
de  Contrecoeur,  who  had  been  in  command  of  Fort  Niagara,  and  Cou- 
lon  de  Villiers,  one  of  seven  brothers,  six  of  whom  lost  their  lives  in  the 
Canadian  wars.  Contrecoeur  was  subsequently  in  command  of  Fort  du 
Quesne,  at  or  immediately  after  the  defeat  of  Braddock. 

The  present  article  is  designed  to  give  an  account  of  that  expedi- 
tion, to  trace  its  route  and  to  identify  as  far  as  possible  the  geographical 
points  which  it  visited.  Only  brief  notices  of  the  undertaking  have 
heretofore  been  given  to  the  public.  The  discovery  of  some  of  the 
leaden  plates,  buried  by  its  officers  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  have  from 
time  to  time  awakened  public  interest  and  curiosity,  which  the  meagre 
accounts  already  published  have  failed  to  satisfy.  While  recently  exam- 
ining the  archives  ot  the  Dc'partement  de  la  Marine  in  Paris  the  writer 
met  with  the  original  manuscript  journal  kept  by  de  Celoron  during  his 
entire  voyage.  He  also  found  in  the  Grandes  Archives  of  the  Depot  de  la 
Marine,  No.  17  rue  de  l'Universite,  a  manuscript  diary  of  Father  Bonne- 
camps,  who  styles  himself  "  Jesuitte  Mathematicien,"  and  who  seems 
to  have  been  the  chaplain,  as  well  as  a  kind  of  sailing  master  of  the 
expedition,  keeping  a  daily  record  of  the  courses  and  distances  they 
traveled,  the  latitudes  and  longitudes  of  the  principal  geographical 
points,  with  occasional  brief  notes  of  the  most  important  occurrences. 
In  another  department,  called  the  Bibliothcque  du  depot  de  la  Marine,  there 
was  found  a  large  Ms.  map,  31I  by  34!  inches  square,  representing  the 
country  through  which  the  expedition  passed,  including  the  St.  Law 


DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO  131 

rence  westward  of  Montreal,  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  the  territory  south 
of  those  lakes  as  far  as  the  Ohio,  and  the  whole  course  of  that  river  from 
the  source  of  the  Alleghany  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami.  This 
map  forms  an  important  illustration  of  the  expedition.  On  it  are  delin- 
eated by  appropriate  characters  the  points  where  leaden  plates  were 
deposited,  where  the  latitudes  and  longitudes  were  observed,  and  the 
localities  of  the  Indian  villages  visited  on  the  route. 

The  journals  of  de  Celoron  and  Father  Bonnecamps,  and  the  map  of 
the  latter,  have  furnished  the  ground-work  of  the  narrative.  Explana- 
tory and  historical  notes,  drawn  from  other  sources,  have  occasionally 
been  added. 

The  first  of  the  leaden  plates  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  public 
in  a  letter  addressed  by  Governor  George  Clinton  to  the  Lords  of  Trade 
in  London,  dated  New  York,  December  19th,  1750,  in  which  he  states 
that  he  "  would  send  to  their  Lordships  in  two  or  three  weeks  a  plate  of 
lead,  full  of  writing,  which  some  of  the  upper  nations  of  Indians  stole 
from  Jean  Coeur,3  the  French  interpreter  at  Niagara,  on  his  way  to  the 
river  Ohio,  which  river,  and  all  the  lands  thereabouts,  the  French  claim, 
as  will  appear  by  said  writing."  He  further  states  "  that  the  lead  plate 
gave  the  Indians  so  much  uneasiness  that  they  immediately  dispatched 
some  of  the  Cayuga  chiefs  to  him  with  it,  saying  that  their  only  reliance 
was  on  him,  and  earnestly  begged  he  would  communicate  the  contents 
thereof  to  them,  which  he  had  done,  much  to  their  satisfaction  and  the 
interests  of  the  English."  The  Governor  concludes  by  saying  that  "  the 
contents  of  the  plate  may  be  of  great  importance  in  clearing  up  the 
encroachments  which  the  French  have  made  on  the  British  Empire  in 
America."  3  The  plate  was  delivered  to  Colonel,  afterwards  Sir  William 
Johnson,  on  the  4th  of  December,  1750,  at  his  residence  on  the  Mohawk, 
by  a  Cayuga  Sachem,  who  accompanied  it  by  the  following  speech  : 

"  Brother  Corlear  and  War-ragh-i-ya-ghey  :4  I  am  sent  here  by  the 
Five  Nations  with  a  piece  of  writing,  which  the  Senecas,  our  brethren, 
got  by  some  artifice  from  Jean  Coeur,  earnestly  beseeching  you  will  let 
us  know  what  it  means,  and  as  we  put  all  our  confidence  in  you,  our 
brother,  we  hope  you  will  explain  it  ingeniously  to  us."  Colonel  Johnson 
replied  to  the  Sachem,  and  through  him  to  the  Five  Nations,  returning 
a  belt  of  wampum,  and  explaining  the  inscription  on  the  plate.  He  told 
them  that  "  it  was  a  matter  of  the  greatest  consequence,  involving 
the  possession  of  their  lands  and  hunting  grounds,  and  that  Jean  Coeur 
and  the  French  ought  immediately  to  be  expelled  from  the  Ohio  and 
Niagara."     In  reply,  the  Sachem  said  that  "  he  had  heard  with  great 


I32  DB   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO 

attention  and  surprise  the  substance  of  the  '  Devilish  writing '  he  had 
brought,"  and  that  Colonel  Johnson's  remarks  "  were  fully  approved," 
He  promised  that  belts  from  each  of  the  Five  Nations  should  be  sent  from 
the  Senecas'  Castle  to  the  Indians  at  the  Ohio,  to  warn  and  strengthen 
them  against  the  French  encroachments  in  that  direction. 

The  following  is  a  literal  copy  of  the  inscription  in  question.  It  was 
sent  by  Governor  Clinton  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  on  the  17th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1 751: 

"  L'AN  1749  DV  REGNE  DE  LOVIS  XV  ROY  DE  FRANCE,  NOVS  CELORON,  COM- 
MANDANT d'vn  detatchiment  envoie  par  Monsievr  le  Mis.  de  la  Galisson- 
iere,  Commandant  General  de  la  Nouvelle  France  povr  retablir  la  tran- 
quillite  dans  quelques  villages  sauvages  de  ces  cantons,  avons  Enterre 
cette  plaque  AU  CONFLUENT  DE  L'OHIO  ET  DE  TCHADAKOIN  CE  29 

JVILLET,  PRES  DE  LA  RIVIERE  OVO  AUTREMENT  BELLE  RIVIERE,  POUR  MONUMENT 
DU  RENOUVELLEMENT  DE  POSSESSION  QUE  NOUS  AVONS  PRIS  DE  LA  DITTE  RIVIERE 
OYO,  ET  DE  TOUTES  CELLES  QUI  Y  TOMBENT,  ET  DE  TOUTES  LES  TERRES  DES  DEUX 
COTES  JVSQVE  AVX  SOURCES  DES  DITTES  RIVIERES  AINSI  Qv'EN  ONT  JOVI  OU  DV  JOVIR 
LES  PRECEDENTS  ROIS  DE  FRANCE,  ET  QU'lLS  s'y  SONT   MAINTENVS  PAR  LES  ARMES 

et  par  les  traittes,  specialement  par  cevx  de  rlswick,  d'vtrecht  et 
d'Aix  la  Chapelle." 

The  above  is  certified  to  be  "  a  true  copy  "  by  "  Peter  De  Joncourt, 
interpreter." 

TRANSLATION. 

"In  the  year  1749,  of  the  reign  of  Louis  the  15th,  King  of  France,  we  Celo- 
ron,  commander  of  a  detachment  sent  by  Monsieur  the  Marquis  de  la  Galisson- 
iere,  Governor  General  of  New  France,  to  reestablish  tranquility  in  some  Indian 
villages  of  these  cantons,  have  buried  this  Plate  of  Lead  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Ohio  and  the  Chatauqua,  this  29th  day  of  July,  near  the  river  Ohio,  otherwise 
Belle  Riviere,  as  a  monument  of  the  renewal  of  the  possession  we  have  taken  of 
the  said  river  Ohio,  and  of  all  those  which  empty  into  it,  and  of  all  the  lands  on 
both  sides  as  far  as  the  sources  of  the  said  rivers,  as  enjoyed  or  ought  to  have 
been  enjoyed  by  the  kings  of  France  preceding,  and  as  they  have  there  main- 
tained themselves  by  arms  and  by  treaties,  especially  those  of  Ryswick,  Utrecht 
and  Aix  la  Chapelle." 

On  the  29th  of  January,  175 1,  Governor  Clinton  sent  a  copy  of  the 
above  inscription  to  Governor  Hamilton  of  Pennsylvania,  informing 
him  that  it  was  "  taken  from  a  plate  stolen  from  Joncaire  some  months 
since  in  the  Seneca  country  as  he  was  going  to  the  river  Ohio."  5 

The  expedition  was  provided  with  a  number  of  leaden  plates,  about 
eleven  inches  long,  seven  and  a  half  inches  wide  and  one-eighth  of  an 


DE  o£loron's  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  OHIO  133 

inch  thick,  on  each  of  which  an  inscription  in  French,  similar  to  the 
one  above  given,  was  engraved  or  stamped  in  capital  letters,  with  blanks 
left  for  the  insertion  of  the  names  of  the  rivers,  at  the  confluence  of 
which  with  the  Ohio  they  should  be  deposited,  and  the  dates  of  their 
deposit.  The  name  of  the  artist,  Paul  de  Brosse,  was  engraved  on  the 
reverse  of  each.  Thus  provided,  the  expedition  left  La  Chine  on  the 
15th  of  June,  1749,  and  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Fort  Fontenac. 
From  thence,  coasting  along  the  eastern  and  southern  shore  of  Lake 
Ontario,  they  arrived  at  Fort  Niagara  on  the  6th  of  July.  They  reached 
the  portage  at  Lewiston  on  the  7th,  and  ascended  the  Niagara  into  Lake 
Erie.  On  the  14th,  after  advancing  a  few  miles  up  the  lake,  they  were 
compelled  by  a  strong  wind  to  encamp  on  the  south  shore.  They 
embarked  early  on  the  morning  of  the  15th,  hoping  to  reach  the  port- 
age of  "  Chatakouin  "  the  same  day,  but  an  adverse  wind  again  forced 
them  to  land. 

The  southern  shore  of  the  lake  at  this  point  is  described  as 
"  extremely  shallow,  with  no  shelter  from  the  force  of  the  winds,  involv- 
ing great  risk  of  shipwreck  in  landing,  which  is  increased  by  large 
rocks,  extending  more  than  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  the  shore." 
Celoron's  canoe  struck  on  one,  and  he  would  inevitably  have  been 
drowned,  with  ail  on  board,  had  not  prompt  assistance  been  rendered. 
On  the  1 6th  at  noon  they  arrived  at  the  Chatakouin  portage.  This  was 
an  open  roadstead,  where  the  United  States  Government  many  years 
ago  attempted  unsuccessfully  to  construct  a  safe  harbor.  It  is  now 
known  as  Barcelona  or  Portland.  As  soon  as  all  preparations  were 
made  for  the  overland  passage,  and  the  canoes  all  loaded,  Mm.  de 
Villiers  and  le  Borgue  were  dispatched  with  fifty  men  to  clear  the  way, 
while  Celoron  examined  the  situation  of  the  place,  in  order  to  ascertain 
its  fitness  for  the  establishment  of  a  Post.  He  says :  "  I  found  it  ill- 
adapted  for  such  a  purpose,  as  well  from  its  position  as  from  its  relation 
to  the  navigation  of  the  lake.  The  water  is  so  shallow  that  barks  stand- 
ing in  cannot  approach  within  a  league  of  the  portage.  There  being 
no  island  or  harbor  to  which  they  could  resort  for  shelter,  they  would 
be  under  the  necessity  of  riding  at  anchor  and  discharging  their  load- 
ing by  batteaux.  The  frequency  of  squalls  would  render  it  a  place  of 
danger.  Besides,  there  are  no  Indian  villages  in  the  vicinity.  In  fact, 
they  are  quite  distant,  none  being  nearer  than  Ganaougon  and  Paiile 
Coupee.  In  the  evening  Mm.  de  Villiers  and  le  Borgue  returned  to 
lodge  at  the  camp,  having  cleared  the  way  for  about  three-quarters  of 
a  league."     Up  to  this  time,  the  usual  route  of  the  French  to  the  Missis- 


134  DE   CELORON  S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO 

sippi  had  been  by  the  way  of  Detroit,  Green  Bay,  the  Wisconsin,  Lake 
Michigan  and  the  Illinois  river.  They  had  five  villages  on  the  Missis- 
sippi, near  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois,  as  early  as  1749. 

"On  the  17th,"  continues  the  Journal,  "at  break  of  day,  we  began 
the  portage,  the  prosecution  of  which  was  vigorously  maintained.  All 
the  canoes,  provisions,  munitions  of  war,  and  merchandise  intended  as 
presents  to  the  Indians  bordering  on  the  Ohio,  were  carried  over  the 
three-quarters  of  a  league  which  had  been  rendered  passable  the  day 
previous.  The  route  was  exceedingly  difficult,  owing  to  the  numerous 
hills  and  mountains  which  we  encountered.  All  my  men  were  very 
much  fatigued.  We  established  a  strong  guard,  which  was  continued 
during  the  entire  campaign,  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  security,  but 
for  teaching  the  Canadians  a  discipline  which  they  greatly  needed.  We 
continued  our  advance  on  the  14th,  but  bad  weather  prevented  our 
making  as  much  progress  as  on  the  preceding  day.  I  consoled  myself 
for  the  delay,  as  it  was  caused  by  a  rain  which  I  greatly  desired,  as  it 
would  raise  the  water  in  the  river  sufficient  to  float  our  loaded  canoes. 
On  the  19th,  the  rain  having  ceased,  we  accomplished  half  a  league. 
On  the  20th  and  21st  we  continued  our  route  with  great  diligence,  and 
arrived  at  the  end  of  the  portage  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Chatacoin  on 
the  22d.  The  whole  distance  may  be  estimated  at  four  leagues.  Here 
I  repaired  my  canoes  and  recruited  my  men." 

It  is  a  little  over  eight  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  the  mouth  of  Chau- 
tauqua Creek  on  Lake  Erie  to  the  head  of  Chautauqua  Lake.  The  route 
taken  by  the  expedition  would  of  course  be  more,  and  probably  equal 
to  the  four  leagues,  or  ten  miles,  stated  by  Celoron.  The  difficulties 
they  encountered  must  have  been  exceedingly  formidable.  Chautauqua 
Lake  is  726  feet  above  Lake  Erie,  and  in  order  to  reach  the  water-shed 
between  the  two  lakes,  an  ascent  of  at  least  one  thousand  feet  had  to  be 
overcome.  Although  at  that  early  day,  when  the  forests  were  yet 
undisturbed,  the  Chautauqua  Creek  flowed  with  fuller  banks  than  now, 
yet  even  then  but  little  use  could  be  made  of  it  by  loaded  canoes,  except 
near  its  mouth.  The  portage  could  only  be  accomplished  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  way  by  carrying  the  canoes,  baggage,  provisions  and  sup- 
plies on  the  shoulders  of  the  men  up  the  steep  mountain  sides  to  the 
summit,  from  which  the  waters  flowed  southward  into  Chautauqua 
Lake.  Looking  back  from  this  elevation,  a  magnificent  panorama  must 
have  presented  itself  to  Celoron  and  his  companions.  Lake  Erie  lay  at 
their  feet,  with  the  Canada  shore,  forty  miles  distant,  in  plain  sight, 
while  the  extremities  of  that  great  inland  sea,  extending  east  and  west, 
were  lost  below  the  horizon. 


DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO  I35 

The  expedition  did  not  loiter  long-  on  the  banks  of  Chautauqua 
Lake.  On  the  23d  they  launched  their  bark  flotilla  on  its  clear,  cool 
waters,  and  paddling  south-eastward  through  the  lake,  passed  the  nar- 
rows at  what  are  now  known  as  Long  and  Bemus  Points.  The  shape 
of  the  lake  is  quite  peculiar.  Its  northwestern  and  southeastern  extrem- 
ities, which  are  nearly  equal,  and  comprise  the  greater  part  of  the  lake, 
are  connected  by  two  short  irregular  straits,  between  which  nestles  a 
small  beautiful  bay.  The  singular  configuration  of  the  whole  gives 
plausibility  to  the  interpretation  of  the  Indian  name,  Chautauqua,  which 
is  said  to  signify  "  a  sack  tied  in  the  middle." 

On  the  evening  of  the  23d  of  July  the  expedition  encamped  on  shore 
within  three  miles  of  the  outlet.  The  lake  is  stated  by  Celoron  to  be 
"  nine  leagues,"  or  about  twenty-two  miles  long.  The  actual  length  is 
less  than  sixteen.  Distances  are  almost  always  overstated  by  the  early 
French  voyageurs  in  America.  In  the  evening  a  party  of  Indians,  who 
had  been  engaged  during  the  day  in  fishing  in  the  lake,  reported  they 
had  seen  the  enemy  watching  them  from  the  adjacent  forest.  They  had 
fled  as  soon  as  discovered.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  the 
expedition  entered  the  outlet,  a  narrow  stream,  winding  through  a  deep 
morass,  bordered  by  a  tall  forest,  which,  over-arching  the  way,  almost 
shut  out  the  light  of  day.  The  water  being  found  quite  low,  in 
order  to  lighten  the  canoes,  they  sent  the  greater  part  of  their  loading 
about  three-quarters  of  a  league  by  land,  over  a  path  pointed  out  by  the 
Sieur  de  Saussaye,  who  was  acquainted  with  the  country.6  The  dis- 
tance they  accomplished  this  day  by  water  did  not  exceed  half  a  league. 
It  probably  carried  them  through  the  swamp  as  far  as  the  high  land  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  present  village  of  Jamestown.  The  next  day, 
before  resuming  their  march,  Celoron  deemed  it  expedient  to  convene  a 
council  to  consider  what  should  be  done  in  view  of  the  evident  signs  of 
an  enemy  in  the  vicinity,  who  on  being  discovered  had  abandoned  their 
canoes  and  effects  and  fled,  carrying  the  alarm  to  the  adjacent  village  of 
Paille  Coupee.  The  council  decided  to  dispatch  Lieutenant  Joncaire, 
some  Abenakis  and  three  Iroquois,  with  three  belts,  to  assure  the  fugi- 
tives of  the  friendly  object  of  the  expedition.  After  the  departure  of 
the  embassy  the  march  was  resumed  over  the  rapids,  frith  which  the 
outlet  abounded. 

"  We  proceeded,"  says  the  Journal,  "  about  a  league  with  great  diffi- 
culty. In  many  places  I  was  obliged  to  assign  forty  men  to  each  canoe 
to  facilitate  their  passage.  On  the  26th  and  27th  we  continued  our  voy- 
age not  without  many  obstacles ;   notwithstanding  all  our  precautions  to 


I36  DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO 

guard  our  canoes,  they  often  sustained  great  injury  by  reason  of  the 
shallow  water.  On  the  29th  at  noon  I  entered  the  '  la  Belle  Riviere.'  I 
buried  a  plate  of  lead  at  the  foot  of  a  red  oak  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
river  Oyo  (Ohio)  and  of  the  Chanougon,  not  far  from  the  village  of 
Kanaouagon,  in  latitude  42°  5/23//."  It  is  unnecessary  to  give  a  copy 
of  the  inscription  on  the  above  plate,  as  it  is  similar  to  the  one  which 
was  sent  to  Governor  Clinton,  as  before  related,  except  slight  variations 
in  the  spelling,  accents  and  arrangement  of  lines.  The  three  plates 
which  thus  far  have  been  discovered  present  the  same  differences.  The 
places  and  dates  of  deposit  are  coarsely  engraved,  evidently  with  a  knife. 
In  the  one  just  described  the  blanks  were  filled  with  the  words:  "  Au 
confluent  de  l'Ohio  et  Kanaaiagon,  le  29  Juillet." 

"At  the  confluence  of  the  Ohio  and  Kanaaiagon  the  29th  of  July." 

The  river,  spelled  "  Kanaaiagon "  on  the  plate,  "  Chanougon "  by 
Celeron  in  his  Journal,  and  "  Kananouangon,"  on  Bonnecamps'  map,  is  a 
considerable  stream  that  rises  in  western  New  York,  and  after  receiving 
the  Chautauqua  outlet  as  a  tributary,  empties  into  the  Alleghany  just 
above  the  village  of  Warren.  It  is  now  known  as  the  Conewango.  On 
the  site  of  Warren,  at  the  northwesterly  angle  of  the  two  rivers,  there 
was,  at  the  time  of  Celeron's  visit,  an  Indian  village,  composed  principally 
of  Senecas,  with  a  few  Loups,  bearing  the  name  of  Kanaouagon.  It  was 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Conewango,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Alle. 
ghany,  that  the  leaden  plate  was  buried.  The  following  is  Father  Bonne- 
camps'  entry  in  his  diary  : 

"  L'ou  a  enterre'  une  lame  de  plomb,  avec  une  inscription,  sur  la  rive 
me'ridionale  de  cette  riviere,  et  vis-a-vis  le  confluent  des  deux  rivieres." 
"  We  buried  a  leaden  plate  bearing  an  inscription  on  the  south  bank  of 
this  river,  and  opposite  the  confluence  of  the  two  rivers." 

The  place  of  deposit  is  a  little  differently  described  in  the  Proces 
Verbal  drawn  up  on  the  occasion.  "  Au  pied  (fun  chine  rouge,  sur  la 
rive  me'ridionale  de  la  riviere  Ohio,  et  vis-a-vis  la  point e  d'une  ilette.  ok 
sc  joignent  les  deux  rivieres  Ohio  et  Kanaougou."  "  At  the  foot  of  a  red 
oak  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Ohio  river,  and  opposite  the  point  of  a  small 
island,  at  the  confluence  of  the  two  rivers  Ohio  and  Kanaougon."  It 
will  be  noticed  that  the  inscription  on  the  plate  recites  that  it  was 
buried  on  the  south  side  of  the  Ohio,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  "  Chanou- 
gon "  (Conewango). 

This  presents  a  discrepancy  between  the  inscriptions  as  given  in  the 
Journals  of  Celoron  and  Bonnecamps,  and  the  one  on  the  plate  forwarded 
by  Colonel  Johnson  to  Governor  Clinton  in  1751  as  above  described. 


de  c£loron's  expedition  to  the  ohio  137 

The  latter  states  it  to  have  been  buried  "  at  the  confluence  of  the  Ohio 
and  Tchadakoin?  The  solution  of  the  difficulty  seems  to  be,  that  the  latter 
plate  was  never  buried  or  used,  but  was  abstracted  by  the  Iroquois 
friendly  to  the  English,  and  another  plate,  having  a  correct  inscription, 
was  substituted  by  the  French.  The  inscription  on  the  one  sent  to 
Governor  Clinton,  was  undoubtedly  prepared  on  the  supposition  that  the 
Chautauqua  outlet  emptied  into  the  Ohio.  But  when  that  outlet  was 
found  to  be  a  tributary  of  the  Conewango,  and  that  the  latter  emptied  into 
the  Ohio,  a  corrected  plate,  containing  the  name  of  the  Conewango 
instead  of  the  Chautauqua,  was  substituted  and  buried,  as  stated  in 
Celeron's  journal.8  The  latter  plate  has  never  been  found.  This  solu- 
tion is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  none  of  the  accounts  of  the  plate 
sent  to  Governor  Clinton  state  that  it  had  been  buried,  or  had  been  dug  up. 
The  Cayuga  Sachem,  in  his  speech  quoted  in  Colonel  Johnson's  letter  of 
December  4th,  1750,  states  that  "the  Senecas  got  it  by  some  artifice  from 
Jean  Coeur." 

Governor  Clinton,  in  his  letter  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  states  that 
some  of  the  upper  nations,  which  include  the  Senecas,  "stole  it  from 
Jean  Coeur,  the  French  interpreter  at  Niagara,  on  his  way  to  the  river 
Ohio."  The  Governor  states  the  same  in  substance  in  his  letter  to  Gov- 
ernor Hamilton,  of  Pennsylvania.  The  theft  must  therefore  have 
occurred  while  the  expedition  was  on  its  way  to  the  Ohio,  and  before  any 
of  the  plates  were  buried.  The  original  plate  was  probably  soon  after 
carried  to  England  by  Governor  Clinton.  The  names  "  Chatacoin  "  and 
"  Chatakouin,"  as  spelled  by  Celeron  in  his  journal,  and  "  Tchadakoin,"  as 
inscribed  on  the  plate,  and  "  Tjadakoin,"  as  spelled  by  Bonnecamps  on  his 
map,  are  all  variations  of  the  modern  name  Chautauqua.  It  will  be  found 
differently  written  by  several  early  authors.  Pouchot  writes  it  "  Shata- 
coin;'  Lewis  Evans,  1758,  "Jadachque;'  Sir  William  Johnson, 
"  Jadaghque  ;  "  Mitchell,  1755,  "  Chadocoin;  "  Alden,  as  pronounced  by 
Cornplanter,  "  Chaud-dauk-wa."  It  is  a  Seneca  name,  and  in  the  ortho- 
graphy of  that  nation,  according  to  the  system  of  the  late  Reverend 
Asher  Wright,  long  a  missionary  among  them,  and  a  fluent  speaker  of 
their  language,  it  would  be  written  "  Jah-dah-gwah,"  the  first  two  vowels 
being  long  and  the  last  short.  Different  significations  have  been  ascribed 
to  the  word.  It  is  said  to  mean  "  The  place  where  a  child  was  swept 
away  by  the  waves."  The  late  Dr.  Peter  Wilson,  an  educated  Seneca, 
and  a  graduate  of  Geneva  Medical  College,  told  the  writer  that  it  signi- 
fied literally,  "  where  the  fish  was  taken  out." 

He  related  an  Indian  tradition  connected  with  its  origin.    A  party  of 


1 38  DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO 

Senecas  were  returning  from  the  Ohio  to  Lake  Erie.  While  paddling 
through  Chautauqua  Lake,  one  of  them  caught  a  strange  fish  and 
tossed  it  into  his  canoe.  After  passing  the  portage  into  Lake  Erie,  they 
found  the  fish  still  alive,  and  threw  it  in  the  water.  From  that  time  the 
new  species  became  abundant  in  Lake  Erie,  where  one  was  never  known 
before.  Hence,  they  called  the  place  where  it  was  caught,  Jah-dah-gwah, 
the  elements  of  which  are  Ga-joh,  "  fish,"  and  Ga-dah-gwah,  "  taken  out." 
By  dropping  the  prefixes,  acording  to  Seneca  custom,  the  compound 
name  "  Jah-dah-gwah  "  was  formed.  Among  other  significations  which 
have  been  assigned  to  the  word,  but  without  any  authority,  may  be 
mentioned  "  The  elevated  place,"  and  "  The  foggy  place,"  in  allusion, 
probably,  to  the  situation  of  the  lake,  and  the  mists  which  prevail  on  its 
surface  at  certain  seasons. 

It  will  be  noticed  the  Alleghany  is  called  by  Celeron  the  Ohio,  or  "  La 
Belle  Riviere."  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of  all  early  French 
writers  since  the  discovery  of  the  river  by  LaSalle.  The  same  custom 
prevailed  among  the  Senecas.  They  have  always  considered  the  Alle- 
ghany as  the  Ohio  proper.  If  you  ask  a  Seneca  his  name  for  that  river, 
he  will  answer  O-hee-yuh.  If  you  ask  him  its  meaning,  he  will  give  it 
as  "  Beautiful  river. 

Mr.  Heckewelder,  the  Moravian  missionary,  supposing  the  word  to 
be  of  Delaware  origin,  endeavors  to  trace  its  etymology  from  several 
words,  signifying  in  that  language,  "  The  white  foaming  river."  The 
late  Judge  Hall  of  Cincinnati  adopted  the  same  derivation.  Neither  of 
them  seem  to  have  been  aware  that  it  is  a  genuine  Seneca  word,  derived 
from  that  nation  by  the  French,  and  by  the  latter  written  "  Ohio."  Its 
pronunciation  by  a  Frenchman  would  exactly  represent  the  word  as 
spoken  by  a  Seneca,  the  letter  "i"  being  sounded  like  c.  The  name 
"  Ohio  "  was,  therefore,  correctly  inserted  on  the  plates  buried  on  the 
banks  of  the  Alleghany,  above  its  junction  with  the  Monongahela  at 
Pittsburgh. 

At  the  time  the  plate  was  interred  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Cone- 
wango,  as  already  narrated,  all  the  officers  and  men  of  the  expedition 
being  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  the  chief  in  command  proclaimed  in  a 
loud  voice,  "  Vive  le  Roi,"  and  that  possession  was  now  taken  of  the 
country  in  the  name  of  the  King.  The  royal  arms  were  affixed  to  a 
neighboring  tree,  and  a  Prods  Verbal  was  drawn  up  and  signed  as  a  memo- 
rial of  the  ceremony.  The  same  formality  was  adopted  at  the  burial  of 
each  succeeding  plate.  This  proces  verbal  was  in  the  following  form, 
and  in  each  instance  was  signed  and  witnessed  by  the  officers  present : 


DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO  1 39 

"  L'an,  1749,  nous  Celoron,  Chevalier  de  Vordre  Royal  ct  militairc  de  St. 
Louis,  Capitaine  Commandant  uu  dc'tacJiemcnt  envoyi  par  les  ordrcs  de 
M.  le  Marquis  de  Galissonniere,  Commandant  General  en  Canada,  dans 
la  Belle  Riviere  aceompagne  des  principaux  officers  de  not  re  dc'taclie- 
ment,  avons  entcrre  (Here  was  inserted  the  place  of  deposit.)  une 
plaque  de  plomb,  ct  fait  attacker  dans  le  mane  lieu,  a  un  arbre,  les 
Amies  du  Roi.  En  foy  de  quoi,  nous  avons  dressc  ct  signe,  aire  M.  M. 
les  officicrs,  le  present  Proccs  verbal  a  notre  camp,  le  (day  of  the  month) 
1749."  "  In  the  year  1749  we,  Celoron,  Chevalier  of  the  Royal  and  military 
order  of  St.  Louis,  commander  of  a  detachment  sent  by  order  of  the 
Marquis  of  Galissoniere,  Governor  General  of  Canada,  to  the  Ohio,  in 
presence  of  the  principal  officers  of  our  detachment,  have  buried  (Here 
was  inserted  the  place  of  deposit)  a  leaden  plate,  and  in  the  same  place 
have  affixed  to  a  tree  the  Arms  of  the  King.  In  testimony  whereof  we 
have  drawn  up  and  signed,  with  the  officers,  the  present  Proces  verbal, 
at  our  camp,  the  (day  of  the  month)  1749."  This  method  of  asserting 
sovereignty  over  new  territory  is  peculiar  to  the  French,  and  was  often 
adopted  by  them.  La  Salle,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  in  1682, 
thus  proclaimed  the  dominion  of  Louis  le  Grand,  and  more  recently 
the  same  formality  was  observed  when  a  French  squadron  took  posses- 
sion of  some  islands  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

A  few  miles  from  Kanaouagon,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Alleghany, 
just  below  its  junction  with  the  Brokenstraw  Creek,  was  the  Indian  vil- 
lage of  "  Paille  Coupee,"  or  Cut  Straw,  the  name  being  given  by  Celo- 
ron as  Kachuiodagon,  occupied  principally  by  Senecas.  The  English 
name,  "  Broken  Straw,"  and  the  French  name,  Paille  Coupee,  were 
both  probably  derived  from  the  Seneca  name,  which  is  De-ga-syo-noh- 
dyah-goh,  which  signifies  literally,  broken  straw.  Kachuiodagon,  as 
given  by  Ueloron,  and  If.oshenunteagunk,  as  given  on  the  Historical 
Map  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Seneca  name,  are  all  three  the  same  word 
in  different  orthography,  the  variation  in  the  first  two  being  occasioned 
by  the  difference  between  the  French  and  English  mode  of  spelling  the 
same  Indian  word.  Father  Bonnecamps  states  the  village  to  be  in  latitude 
410  54/  3/'  and  in  longitude  790  13'  west  of  Paris. 

While  the  expedition  was  resting  in  the  vicinity  of  these  two  Indian 
villages,  a  council  was  held  with  the  inhabitants,  conducted  by  Joncaire, 
whom  Celoron  states  had  been  adopted  by  the  Senecas,  and  possessed 
great  influence  and  power  over  them.  They  addressed  him  in  the  coun- 
cil as  "  our  child  Joncaire."  He  was  probably  the  person  of  that  name 
met  by   Washington  at  Venango  four  years  aftewards,9  and  a  son  of 


140  DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO 

the  Joncaire  mentioned  by  Charlevoix  as  living  at  Lewiston  on  the 
Niagara  in  1721,  "  who  possessed  the  wit  of  a  Frenchman  and  the  sub- 
lime eloquence  of  an  Iroquois."  The  father,  who  was  a  captive,  died  in 
1740,  leaving  two  half-breed  sons,  who  seem  to  have  inherited  his  influ- 
ence and  distinction.  Their  names  were  Chabert  Joncaire,  Junior,  and 
Philip  Clauzonne  de  Joncaire.  Both  were  in  the  French  service,  and 
brought  reinforcements  from  the  west  to  Fort  Niagara  at  the  time  it 
was  besieged  by  Sir  William  Johnson  in  1759.  Their  names  are  affixed 
to  the  capitulation  which  took  place  a  few  days  later.  The  former 
was  in  command  of  Fort  Schlosser,  his  brother,  who  was  a  captain  in 
the  marine,  being  with  him.  They  were  both  in  the  expedition  of 
Celoron. 

The  result  of  the  council  held  by  Joncaire  was  not  satisfactory  to 
the  French.  It  was  very  evident  there  was  a  strong  feeling  among  the 
Indians  on  the  Alleghany  in  favor  of  the  English.  It  did  not,  however, 
prevent  the  French  from  descending  the  river.  After  pledging  the  Sen- 
ecas  in  a  cup  of  "  Onontios  milk  "  (brandy),  the  expedition  left  the  vil- 
lages of  Kanaouagon  and  Paille  Coupee  on  the  first  day  of  August,  and 
after  proceeding  about  four  leagues  below  the  latter,  reached  a  village  of 
Loups  and  Renards,  composed  of  ten  cabins.  The  Loups  were  a  branch 
of  the  Delawares,  called  by  the  English  Munseys.  Four  or  five  leagues 
farther  down  they  passed  another  small  village,  consisting  of  six  cabins, 
and  on  the  third  of  August  another  of  ten  cabins.  The  next  was  a  vil- 
lage on  the  "  Riviere  aux  Boeufs."  According  to  Father  Bonnecamps, 
they  passed  between  Paille  Coupee  and  the  Riviere  aux  Boeufs  one  vil- 
lage on  the  left  and  four  on  the  right,  the  latitude  of  the  third  on  the 
right  being  410  30'  30",  and  the  longitude  790  21 'west  of  Paris.  The 
Riviere  aux  Boeufs  is  now  known  as  French  Creek,  it  having  been 
so  called  by  Washington  on  his  visit  there  m  1753.  The  English 
named  it  Venango.  A  fort  was  built  by  the  French  in  1753-4  on  its 
western  bank,  sixty  rods  below  its  junction  with  the  Alleghany,  called 
Fort  Machault.  In  1760,  when  the  English  took  possession,  they  built 
another,  forty  rods  higher  up,  and  nearer  the  mouth  of  French  Creek, 
which  they  called  Fort  Venango.  In  1787  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment sent  a  force  to  protect  the  settlers,  and  built  a  fort  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  creek,  half  a  mile  above  its  mouth,  which  was  called  Fort 
Franklin.  From  all  of  which  it  appears  that  this  was  at  an  early  day 
an  important  point  on  the  river.  It  is  now  the  site  of  the  flourishing 
village  of  Franklin.  At  the  time  of  Celoron's  visit  the  Indian  village 
numbered  about  ten  cabins. 


DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO  141 

After  passing  the  Riviere  aux  Boeufs  and  another  on  the  left,  the 
expedition  reached  on  the  same  day  a  bend  in  the  river  about  nine  miles 
below,  on  the  left  or  eastern  bank  of  which  la)-  a  large  boulder,  nearly 
twenty-two  feet  in  length  by  fourteen  in  breadth,  on  the  inclined  face  of 
which  were  rude  inscriptions,  evidently  of  Indian  workmanship,  repre- 
senting by  various  symbols  the  triumphs  of  the  race  in  war  and  in  the 
chase.  It  was  regarded  by  the  natives  attached  to  the  expedition  as  an 
"  Indian  God,"  and  held  in  superstitious  reverence.  It  was  a  well- 
known  landmark,  and  did  not  fail  to  arrest  the  attention  of  the  French. 
Celoron  deemed  it  a  favorable  point  at  which  to  bury  his  second  leaden 
plate.  This  was  done  with  due  form  and  ceremony,  the  plate  bearing 
an  inscription  similar  to  that  on  the  first,  differing  only  in  the  date  and 
designation  of  the  place  of  deposit.  Celoron's  record  is  as  follows : 
"  AaAt  yne,  :749-  Enterre'  une  plaque  de  plomb  sur  la  rive  meridionale 
de  la  riviere  Oyo,  a  4  lieues,  an  dessous  de  la  riviere  aux  boeufs,  vis-a-vis 
uue  montagne  pcllc,  et  aupres  d'une  grosse  picrre,  sur  laquelle  on  voit 
plusieurs  figures  assez  grossierement  grave'es."  "  Buried  a  leaden  plate  on 
the  south  bank  of  the  Ohio  river,  four  leagues  below  the  river  Aux 
Boeufs,  opposite  a  bald  mountain,  and  near  a  large  stone,  on  which  are 
many  figures  rudely  engraved." 

Father  Bonnecamps  states  the  deposit  to  have  been  made  under  th  large 
rock.  An  excellent  view  of  the  rock  in  question,  with  a  fac-simile  of 
the  hierogly phics  on  its  face,  may  be  found  in  Schoolcraft's  work  on  the 
"  Indian  Tribes  in  the  United  States,"  Vol.  VI,  pp.  172.  It  was  drawn  by 
Captain  Eastman  of  the  U.  S.  Army  while  standing  waist  deep  in  the 
river,  its  banks  being  then  nearly  full.  At  the  time  of  the  spring  and 
fall  freshets  the  rock  is  entirely  submerged.  The  abrasion  of  its  exposed 
surface  by  ice  and  flood-wood  in  winter  has  almost  obliterated  the  rude 
carvings.  At  the  time  of  Celoron's  visit  it  was  entirely  uncovered.  It 
is  called  "  Hart's  rock"  on  Hutchings'  Topographical  Map  of  Virginia. 
The  distance  of  "  four  leagues"  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  Aux  Boeufs, 
or  French  Creek,  to  the  rock,  as  given  by  Celoron,  is,  as  usual,  a  little 
exaggerated.  The  actual  distance  by  the  windings  of  the  river  is  about' 
nine  miles.  The  league  as  used  by  Celoron  may  be  estimated  as  contain- 
ing about  two  miles  and  a  half.  The  leaden  plate  deposited  at  this  point 
has  never  been  found,  and  some  zealous  antiquarian  living  in  the  vicin- 
ity might,  from  the  record  now  given,  be  able  to  restore  it  to  light,  after 
a  repose  of  more  than  a  century  and  a  quarter. 

From  this  station  Celoron  sent  Joncaire  forward  to  Attigue  the  next 
day,  to  announce  the  approach  of  the  expedition,  it  being  an  Indian  set- 


142  DE  CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO 

tlement  of  some  importance  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  between  eight 
and  nine  leagues  farther  down,  containing  twenty-two  cabins.  Before 
reaching  Attigue  they  passed  a  river  three  or  four  leagues  from  the  Aux 
Boeufs,  the  confluence  of  which  with  the  Alleghany  is  described  as  "  very 
beautiful,"  and  a  league  farther  down  another,  having  on  its  upper 
waters  some  villages  of  Loups  and  Iroquois. 

Attigue  was  probably  on  or  near  the  Kiskiminitas  river,  which  falls 
into  the  south  side  of  the  Alleghany  about  twenty-five  miles  above  Pitts- 
burgh. It  is  called  the  river  d'Attigue  by  Montcalm,  in  a  letter 
dated  in  1758. 10  There  were  several  Indian  villages  on  its  banks  at  that 
date.  They  reached  Attigue  on  the  sixth,  where  they  found  Joncaire 
waiting.  Embarking  together  they  passed  on  the  right  an  old 
"Chaouanons"  (Shawnees)  village.  It  had  not  been  occupied  by  the 
Indians  since  the  removal  of  Chartier  and  his  band  to  the  river  Vermillion 
in  the  Wabash  country  in  1745,  by  order  of  the  Marquis  de  Beauharnois. 
Leaving  Attigue  the  next  day,  they  passed  a  village  of  Loups,  all  the 
inhabitants  of  which,  except  three  Iroquois,  and  an  old  woman  who  was 
regarded  as  a  Queen,  and  devoted  to  the  English,  had  fled  in  alarm  to 
Chiningue.  This  village  of  the  Loups,  Celoron  declares  to  be  the  finest 
he  saw  on  the  river.  It  must  have  been  situated  at  or  near  the  present 
site  of  Pittsburgh.  The  description  of  the  place,  like  many  given  by 
Celoron,  is  so  vague  that  it  is  impossible  to  identify  it  with  any  certainty. 
The  clear,  bright  current  of  the  Alleghany,  and  the  sluggish,  turbid 
stream  of  the  Monongahela,  flowing  together  to  form  the  broad  Ohio, 
their  banks  clothed  in  luxuriant  summer  foliage,  must  have  presented  to 
the  voyagers  a  scene  strikingly  picturesque,  one  which  would  hardly 
have  escaped  the  notice  of  the  chief  oi  the  expedition.  If,  therefore,  the 
allusion  to  ''the  finest  place  on  the  river"  has  no  reference  to  the  site  of 
Pittsburgh,  then  no  mention  is  made  of  it  whatever.  On  landing  three 
leagues  farther  down,  they  were  told  by  some  of  their  Indians  that  they 
had  passed  a  rock  on  which  were  some  inscriptions.  Father  Bonnecamps 
.and  Joncaire,  who  were  sent  to  examine  it,  reported  nothing  but  some 
English  names  written  in  charcoal.  This  was  near  the  second  entrepot  of 
the  English. 

Their  camp  being  only  two  leagues  above  Chiningue,  they  were 
enabled  to  reach  the  latter  the  next  day.  They  found  the  village  one  of 
the  largest  on  the  river,  consisting  of  fifty  cabins  of  Iroquois,  Shawnees 
and  Loups ;  also  Iroquois  from  the  Sault  St.  Louis  and  Lake  of  the  Two 
Mountains,  with  some  Nippissingues,  Abenakis  and  Ottawas.  Bonne- 
camps  estimated  the  number  of  cabins  at  eighty,  and  says,  "  we  called  it 


DE   CELORON  S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO  143 

Chiningue,  from  its  vicinity  to  a  river  of  that  name."  He  records  its 
latitude  as  400  35 '  10"  which  is  nearly  correct,  and  longitude  as  8o°  19/. 
The  place  was  subsequently  known  as  "  Logstown,"  a  large  and  flourishing 
village  which  figures  prominently  in  Indian  history  for  many  years  after 
this  period.  Colonel  Croghan,  who  was  sent  to  the  Ohio  Indians  by  Gov- 
ernor Hamilton,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  August  1749,  mentions  in  his  journal 
that  "  Monsieur  Celaroon  with  two  hundred  French  soldiers,  had  passed 
through  Logstown  just  before  his  arrival." "  Crogan  inquired  of  the 
inhabitants  the  object  of  the  expedition,  and  was  told  by  them  that  "  it 
was  to  drive  the  English  away,  and  by  burying  iron  plates,  with  inscrip- 
tions on  them  at  the  mouth  of  each  remarkable  creek,  to  steal  away  their 
country." 

On  reaching  Chiningue  Celoron  found  several  English  traders  estab- 
lished there,  whom  he  compelled  to  leave.  He  wrote  by  them  to  Gov- 
ernor Hamilton,  under  date  of  August  6th,  1749,  that  he  was  surprised 
to  find  English  traders  on  French  territory,  it  being  in  contravention  of 
solemn  treaties,  and  hoped  the  Governor  would  forbid  their  trespassing 
in  future.  De  Celoron  also  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  informed  the 
Indians  that  "  he  was  on  his  way  down  the  Ohio  to  whip  home  the 
Twightwees  and  Wyandots  for  trading  with  the  English."  They 
treated  his  speech  with  contempt,  insisting  that  "  to  separate  them  from 
the  English  would  be  like  cutting  a  man  into  halves,  and  expecting  him 
to  live."  12  The  Indians  were  found  so  unfriendly  to  the  French,  and 
suspicious  of  the  objects  of  the  expedition,  as  to  embarrass  the  movements 
of  de  Celoron.  His  Iroquois  and  Abenaki  allies  refused  to  accompany 
him  farther  than  Chiningue.  They  destroyed  the  plates  which,  bear- 
ing the  arms  of  the  French  King,  had  been  affixed  to  trees  as  memo- 
rials of  his  sovereignty. 

After  leaving  Chiningue,  they  passed  two  rivers,  one  on  either  side, 
and  crossing  the  present  boundary  line  between  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio, 
reached  the  river  Kanououara  early  on  the  13th.  Here  they  interred 
the  third  leaden  plate,  with  the  usual  inscription  and  customary  cere- 
monies. The  blank  in  the  plate  was  filled  as  follows :  "  Entcrre  a 
Ventre'e  de  la  riviere,  ct  sur  la  rive  Septentrionale  de  Kanououara,  qui 
se  de'charge  a  V est  de  la  riviere  Oyo."  "  Buried  at  the  mouth  and  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  river  Kanououara,  which  empties  into  the  east- 
erly side  of  the  Ohio  river."  Neither  Celoron  nor  Bonnecamps  gives 
such  a  description  of  the  locality  as  to  warrant  a  positive  identification 
of  the  site.  The  plate  was  probably  buried  on  the  northerly  bank  of 
Wheeling  Creek,  at  its  junction  with  the  Ohio,  in  the  present  State  of 


144  DE  c£loron's  expedition  TO  THE  OHIO 

Virginia,  and  near  where  Fort  Henry  was  subsequently  built  in  1774. 
No  vestige  of  the  plate  has  been  discovered  so  far  as  known. 

The  expedition  resumed  its  voyage  on  the  14th,  passing  the  mouths 
of  three  streams,  two  on  the  left  and  one  on  the  right.  Deer  abounded 
along  the  banks.  Two  of  the  rivers  are  stated  to  be  strikingly  beauti- 
ful at  their  junction  with  the  Ohio.  On  the  15th  they  arrived  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  called  by  Father  Bonnecamps  Yenangua- 
konnan,  and  encamped  on  the  shore.  Here  the  fourth  leaden  plate  was 
buried  on  the  right  bank  of  that  river,  at  its  junction  with  the  Ohio. 
Celoron  describes  the  place  of  deposit  as  follows:  " Enterrd  an  pied 
d'un  crable,  qui  forme  trdpied  avec  une  chene  rouge  et  un  orme,  a 
V entree  de  la  riviere  Yenangudkonan,  sur  la  rive  occidental  de  cette 
riviere."  "  Buried  at  the  foot  of  a  maple,  which  forms  a  triangle  with  a 
red  oak  and  elm,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Yenanguakonan,  and  on  its 
western  bank." 

In  1798,  half  a  century  later,  some  boys,  who  were  bathing  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingkum,  discovered  something  projecting  from  the 
perpendicular  face  of  the  river  bank,  three  or  four  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. With  the  aid  of  a  pole  they  loosened  it  from  its  bed,  and  found  it 
to  be  a  leaden  plate,  stamped  with  letters  in  an  unknown  language. 
Unaware  of  its  historic  value,  and  being  in  want  of  lead,  then  a  scarce 
article  in  the  new  country,  they  carried  it  home  and  cast  a  part  of  it 
into  bullets.  News  of  the  discovery  of  so  curious  a  relic  having 
reached  the  ears  of  a  resident  of  Marietta,  he  obtained  possession  of  it, 
and  found  the  inscription  to  be  in  French.  The  boys  had  cut  off  quite 
a  large  part  of  the  inscription,  but  enough  remained  to  indicate  its 
character.  It  subsequently  passed  into  the  hands  of  Caleb  Atwater, 
the  historian,  who  sent  it  to  Governor  De  Witt  Clinton.  The  latter 
presented  it  to  the  Antiquarian  Society  of  Massachusetts,  in  the  library 
of  which  it  is  now  deposited.  A  poor  fac-simile  of  the  fragment  is  given 
in  Hildreth's  Pioneer  History  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  at  page  20.  It  appears 
to  have  been  substantially  the  same  as  the  other  plates  which  have  been 
discovered,  with  the  exception  of  a  different  arrangement  of  the  lines. 
The  place  of  deposit  is  given  as  "riviere  Yenangue"  on  the  part  of  the 
plate  which  was  rescued  from  the  boys.  Mr.  Atwater,  Gov.  Clinton 
and  several  historians,  misled  by  the  similarity  between  the  names 
"  Yenangue "  and  "  Venango,"  supposed  that  it  had  originally  been 
deposited  at  Venango,  an  old  Indian  town  at  the  mouth  of  French 
Creek  in  Pennsylvania,  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  above  the  mouth 
of  the  Muskingum,  and  had  been  carried  down  by  a  freshet,  or  removed 


DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO  145 

by  some  party  to  the  place  where  it  was  discovered.  The  Journal  of 
de  Celoron  removes  all  doubt  on  the  subject,  and  conclusively  estab- 
lishes the  fact  that  the  plate  was  originally  deposited  where  it  was 
found,  on  the  site  where  old  Fort  Harmer  was  subsequently  built,  and 
opposite  the  point  where  the  village  of  Marietta  is  now  situated. 

After  the  deposit  of  the  fourth  plate  was  completed,  the  expedition 
broke  up  their  forest  camp,  embarked  in  their  canoes,  and  resumed  the 
descent  of  the  river.  About  three-fourths  of  a  mile  below  the  Muskin- 
gum, Father  Bonnecamps  took  some  observations,  and  found  the  lati- 
tude to  be  390  36',  and  the  longitude  8i°  20 '  west  of  Paris.  They 
accomplished  twelve  leagues  on  the  16th,  and  on  the  17th,  embarking 
early,  they  passed  two  fine  rivers,  one  on  each  side,  the  names  of  which 
are  not  given.  On  the  18th,  after  an  early  start,  they  were  arrested  by 
the  rain  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  which  is  called  by  Father 
Bonnecamps  "  Chinodaichta."  The  bank  of  this  large  stream,  flowing 
from  the  southeast,  and  draining  an  extensive  territory,  was  chosen  for 
the  deposit  of  the  fifth  plate.  Only  a  brief  record  of  the  ceremony  is 
given.  A  copy  of  the  inscription  is  omitted  by  Celoron,  but  his  record 
of  the  interment  of  the  plate  is  as  follows :  "  Enterrtfe  au  pied  d'un 
orme,  sur  la  rive  meridionale  de  VOyo,  ct  la  rive  orieiitale  de  Chinon- 
daista,  le  18  Aoilt,  1749."  "  Buried  at  the  foot  of  an  elm  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Ohio,  and  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Chinondaista,  the  iSth 
day  of  August,  1749." 

Fortunately  the  discovery  of  the  plate  in  March,  1846,  leaves  no 
doubt  of  the  inscription.  It  was  found  by  a  boy  while  playing  on  the 
margin  of  the  Kenawha  river.  Like  that  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskin- 
gum, it  was  projecting  from  the  river  bank,  a  few  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. Since  the  time  it  was  buried,  an  accumulation  of  soil  had  been 
deposited  above  it  by  the  annual  river  freshets  for  nearly  one  hundred 
years.  The  day  of  the  deposit,  as  recorded  on  the  plate,  corresponds 
precisely  with  the  one  stated  by  de  Celoron.  The  spelling  of  the 
Indian  name  of  the  river  differs  slightly  from  the  Journal,  that  on  the 
plate  being  "  Chinodahichetha."  Kenawha,  the  Indian  name  of  the  river 
in  another  dialect,  is  said  to  signify  "  The  river  of  the  woods."  The 
place  selected  by  Celoron  for  the  interment  of  the  plate  must  have  been 
one  of  surpassing  beauty.  The  native  forest,  untouched  by  the  pioneer, 
and  crowned  with  the  luxuriant  foliage  of  Northern  Kentucky,  covered 
the  banks  of  both  rivers,  and  the  picturesque  scenery  justified  the  name 
of  "  Point  Pleasant,"  which  was  afterwards  bestowed  by  the  early  set- 
tlers.    On  the  1 6th  day  of  October,  1774,  it  became  the  scene  of  a  bloody 


14^  DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO 

battle  between  an  army  of  Virginians,  commanded  by  Colonel  Lewis, 
and  a  large  force  of  western  Indians,  under  the  leadership  of  the  cele- 
brated Cornstalk,  Logan  and  others,  in  which  the  latter  were  defeated.13 

The  expedition  was  detained  at  this  point  by  the  rain.  It  re-embarked 
on  the  20th,  and  when  they  had  proceeded  about  three  leagues,  Father 
Bonnecamps  took  the  latitude  and  longitude,  which  he  records  at  38° 
39 '  57  "  for  the  former,  and  820  01 '  for  the  latter.  Joncaire  was  sent  for- 
ward the  next  day  with  two  chiefs  from  the  Sault  St.  Louis  and  two 
Abenakis,  to  propitiate  the  inhabitants  of  "St.  Yotoc,"  a  village  they 
were  now  approaching.  They  embarked  early  on  the  morning  of  the  22d, 
and  reached  St.  Yotoc  the  same  day.  This  village  was  composed  of 
Shawnees,  Iroquois,  Loups,  and  Miamis,  and  Indians  from  the  Sault  St. 
Louis,  Lake  of  the  Two  Mountains,  as  well  as  representatives  from 
nearly  all  the  nations  of  the  "  upper  country."  The  name  "  St.  Yotoc  " 
seems  to  be  neither  French  nor  Indian.  It  is  probably  a  corruption  of 
Scioto.  Father  Bonnecamps  calls  it  "  Sinhioto  "  on  his  map.  He  records 
the  latitude  of  the  south  bank  of  the  Ohio,  opposite  its  mouth,  at  380 
5o/24//,  and  the  longitude  820  22 '.  Pouchot,  in  his  " Mtmoires  sur  la 
derniere  guerre"  French  edition,  vol.  III.  page  182,  calls  the  river 
"  Sonhioto."  This  village  of  St.  Yotoc,  or  Scioto,  was  probably  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Ohio,  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  now  the 
site  of  Alexandria.     Its  principal  inhabitants  were  Shawnees. 

The  expedition  remained  here  until  the  26th  of  August.  On  the  27th 
they  proceeded  as  far  as  the  riviere  La  Blanche,  or  White  river,  which 
they  reached  at  ten  at  night.  On  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  opposite  the  mouth 
of  this  river,  Bonnecamps  found  the  latitude  to  be  39°  i27oi7/,  and 
the  longitude  830  31'.  Embarking  on  the  30th,  they  passed  the  great 
north  bend  of  the  Ohio,  and  reached  the  riviere  a  la  Roche,  now  known 
as  the  Great  Miami.  Here  their  voyage  on  the  Ohio  ended,  and  they 
turned  their  little  fleet  of  bark  gondolas  northward  into  the  channel  of 
its  great  tributary. 

The  sixth  and  last  of  the  leaden  plates  was  buried  at  this  place.  The 
text  of  Celoron's  Journal  reads  as  follows  : — "  Enterrie  sur  la  pointe 
formde  par  la  rive  droite  de  VOhio,  et  la  rive  gauche  de  la  riviere  a  la 
Roche,  Aout  31,  1749."  "  Buried  on  the  point  formed  by  the  intersection 
of  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio,  with  the  left  bank  of  the  Rock  river. 
August  31,  1749."  So  far  as  known,  this  plate  has  never  been  discovered. 
Celoron  calls  the  Great  Miami  the  Riviere  a  la  Roche,  and  Pouchot 
quoted  above,  and  other  French  writers  give  it  the  same  name. 

The  expedition  left  its  encampment  at  the  mouth  of  this  river  on  the 


DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO  1 47 

first  day  of  September,  and  began  the  toilsome  ascent  of  the  stream,  now 
greatly  diminished  by  the  summer  drought.  On  the  13th  they  arrived  at 
"  Demoiselles,"  which  Father  Bonnecamps,  with  his  constant  companion 
the  Astrolabe,  found  to  be  in  latitude  400  23 '  12",  and  longitude  830  29'. 
This  was  the  residence  of  La  Demoiselle,  a  chief  of  a  portion  of  the  Miamis 
who  were  allies  of  the  English.14  The  fort  and  village  of  La  Demoiselle 
were  mentioned  by  M.  de  Longueil  in  1752.  It  was  probably  situated  on 
what  was  afterwards  known  as  Loramies  Creek,  the  earliest  point  of 
English  settlement  in  Ohio.  It  became  quite  noted  in  the  subsequent 
history  of  the  Indian  wars,  and  was  destroyed  by  General  Clark  in  his 
expedition  of  1782.  A  fort  was  built  on  the  site  several  years  afterwards 
by  General  Wayne,  which  he  named  Fort  Loramie.  Here  the  French 
remained  a  week  to  recruit,  and  prepare  for  the  portage  to  the  Maumee. 
Having  burned  their  canoes,  and  obtained  some  ponies,  they  set  out  on 
their  overland  journey.  In  arranging  for  the  march,  M.  de  Celoron  took 
command  of  the  right,  and  M.  de  Contrecoeur  of  the  left.  The  distance 
was  estimated  by  Celoron  as  fifty  leagues,  and  five  and  a  half  days  were 
allotted  for  its  accomplishment.16 

They  completed  the  portage  on  the  25th,  and  arrived  at  Kiskakon. 
This  appears  to  be  the  Indian  name  for  the  site  of  Fort  Wayne,  which 
was  built  there  in  1794.  Celoron  found  it  a  French  post,  under  the 
command  of  M.  de  Raymond.  It  undoubtedly  took  the  name  of  Kiska- 
kon, from  a  branch  of  Ottawas  that  removed  to  this  place  from  Missilli- 
mackinac,  where  they  had  resided  as  late  as  1682.  It  was  here  that  de 
Celoron  provided  pirogues  and  provisions  for  the  descent  of  the  Maumee 
to  Lake  Erie.  The  Miami  Chief  "  Pied  Froid,"  or  Coldfoot  resided  in 
the  village.  He  appears  not  to  have  been  very  constant  in  his  allegiance 
either  to  the  French  or  the  English. 

Leaving  Kiskakon  on  the  27th  of  September,  a  part  of  the  expedition 
went  overland  to  Detroit,  and  the  remainder  descended  the  river  by 
canoe.  The  latter  landed  near  Detroit  on  the  6th  ol  October.  Having 
renewed  his  supplies  and  canoes  for  the  transportation  of  his  detachment, 
Celoron  prepared  for  the  return  to  Montreal  by  way  of  Lake  Erie.  His 
Indian  allies,  as  usual,  occasioned  some  delay.  They  had  stopped  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Maumee,  and  were  overcome  by  a  drunken  debauch  on  the 
white  man's  fire  water.  It  was  not  until  the  8th  of  October  that  the 
party  finally  launched  their  canoes,  and  descended  the  river  into  Lake 
Erie.  Their  first  night  was  spent  on  its  northern  shore  at  Point  Pellee. 
Nothing  worthy  of  note  occurred  during  their  traverse  of  the  lake. 
They  reached  Fort  Niagara  on  the    19th,  where  they  remained  three 


I48  DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO 

days.  Leaving  there  on  the  22d,  they  coasted  the  south  shore  of  Lake 
Ontario,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Frontenac  on  the  6th  of  November,  their 
canoes  badly  shattered  by  the  autumnal  gales,  and  their  men  greatly 
fatigued  with  the  hardships  of  the  voyage.  They  pushed  on,  however, 
with  as  little  delay  as  possible  to  Montreal,  which  they  reached  on  the 
10th  of  October,  having,  according  to  the  estimate  of  both  de  Celoron 
and  Father  Bonnecamps,  traveled  at  least  twelve  hundred  leagues. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  changes  which  took  place  in  the  Ohio 
Valley  prior  to  the  expedition  of  de  Celoron.  Those  which  have  since 
occurred  are  no  less  remarkable.  Both  the  French  and  the  English 
continued  equally  determined  to  possess  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio. 
The  former  stretched  a  chain  of  posts  from  Niagara  to  the  Mississippi, 
as  a  barrier  against  English  encroachments,  and  to  exclude  the  Indians 
from  their  influence  and  control.  To  counteract  these  demonstrations, 
Gist  was  sent  by  the  Ohio  Company  in  1750  to  survey  its  lands  prelim- 
inary to  their  occupation  and  settlement.  In  1753  Washington  was  dis- 
patched by  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  Venango  and  Le  Boeuf  on  what 
proved  to  be  a  fruitless  mission.  A  post  was  established  the  same  year 
by  the  English  at  Pittsburgh,  which  was  captured  the  next  by  the 
French,  and  called  after  the  Marquis  du  Quesne.  It  was  occupied  by 
the  latter  until  retaken  by  General  Forbes  in  1756. 

This  was  followed  the  next  year  by  an  expedition  under  Washington, 
who  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  drew  his  maiden  sword  at  the  Great 
Meadows  in  an  encounter  with  a  detachment  of  French  under  Jumon- 
ville,  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  the  latter.  Washington  pushed  on 
farther  west,  but  the  advance  of  the  enemy  with  strong  reinforcements 
compelled  him  to  fall  back  to  the  Great  Meadows,  which  he  strengthened 
and  fortified,  under  the  significant  name  of  Fort  Necessity.  Here  he 
was  attacked  by  the  French  under  Coulon  de  Villiers,  a  brother  of 
Jumonville,  with  a  vigor  inspired  by  the  desire  of  avenging  his  brother's 
death.  Washington  was  compelled  to  capitulate.  The  French  were 
thus  enabled  to  acquire  complete  control  for  the  time  being  over  the  dis- 
puted territory.  Thus  was  the  opening  scene  in  the  great  drama  of  the 
"  Old  French  War  "  enacted.  The  disastrous  defeat  of  Braddock  fol- 
lowed the  next  year,  and  exposed  the  whole  frontier  to  the  hostile  incur- 
sions of  the  French  and  Indians. 

In  1759  the  grand  scheme  for  the  conquest  of  Canada,  conceived  by 
the  illustrious  Pitt,  was  carried  into  execution.  The  expeditions  of 
Amherst  against  Ticonderoga,  Wolfe  against  Quebec,  and  Prideaux 
against   Niagara,  resulted   in    the    fall   of    those    important  fortresses. 


DE   CELORON'S   EXPEDITION   TO   THE   OHIO  149 

Major  Rogers  was  sent  to  the  Northwest  in  1760  to  receive  possession 
of  the  French  posts,  which  had  been  surrendered  to  the  English  by  the 
capitulation  of  Quebec.  He  was  met  at  Cuyahoga  by  Pontiac,  the 
Ottowa,  who  forbade  his  farther  progress.  "  I  stand,"  says  he,  "  in  your 
path  ;  you  can  march  no  farther  without  my  permission."  A  friend  to 
the  French,  a  leader  in  the  attack  on  Braddock,  ambitious  and  vindic- 
tive, Pontiac  was  a  chief  of  commanding  intellect  and  well  qualified  for 
bold  enterprises  and  strategic  combinations.  These  qualities  were  indi- 
cated in  his  great  conspiracy  for  the  simultaneous  capture  of  the  ten 
principal  posts  in  the  Northwest,  and  the  massacre  of  the  English  trad- 
ing in  their  vicinity.  Eight  of  those  posts,  embracing  Sandusky,  St. 
Joseph,  Miami,  Ouatanon,  Mackinaw,  Presque  Isle,  Le  Boeuf  and 
Venango  successively  fell  before  the  deep  laid  plans  of  the  wily  chief- 
tain. Forts  Pitt  and  Detroit  successfully  withstood  the  most  vigorous 
assaults,  and  the  latter  a  protracted  siege  conducted  by  Pontiac  himself. 

Now  war  in  all  its  horrors  raged  with  savage  intensity  along  the 
entire  frontier.  The  unprotected  settlers,  men,  women  and  children, 
were  massacred  and  scalped,  or  if  spared,  borne  away  into  a  hopeless 
captivity.  The  English  colonists  were  aroused  to  meet  the  emergency, 
and  Colonel  Bouquet  was  sent  in  1763  with  a  large  force  into  the  Indian 
territory  to  relieve  the  western  posts,  but  was  compelled  to  halt  at 
Pittsburgh. 

The  succeeding  spring  found  the  Indians  again  on  the  war-path,  and 
Detroit  was  invested  for  the  second  time  by  Pontiac.  An  expedition 
was  sent  to  the  Northwestern  posts  under  Bradstreet,  and  another 
under  Bouquet  penetrated  the  interior  of  Ohio.  Bradstreet  was  duped 
by  his  crafty  adversaries  into  a  peace  not  intended  to  be  kept,  but 
Bouquet,  undeceived  by  similar  artifices,  pushed  on  to  the  heart  of 
the  Indian  country.  At  the  junction  of  the  White  Woman  and  Tusca- 
rawas rivers  he  dictated  a  peace  by  his  bold  and  energetic  movements, 
which,  with  the  exception  of  occasional  outbreaks,  was  destined  to  last 
until  the  commencement  of  the  great  contest  between  the  colonists  and 
the  mother  country. 

The  treaty  of  1783  left  the  western  tribes  without  an  ally,  and  the 
United  States  became  free  to  extend  the  arts  of  peace  over  their  new 
territory.  The  pioneers  shouldered  the  axe  and  the  rifle,  and  marching 
westward  in  solid  column,  invaded  the  land.  The  frail  canoe  and  slug- 
gish batteau,  which  had  so  long  and  wearily  contended  with  the  adverse 
currents  of  the  Ohio,  were  soon  replaced  by  the  power  of  steam.  The 
dense  forests  that  for  a  thousand  miles  had  fringed  both  borders  of  the 


!5o  DE  celoron's  expedition  TO  THE  OHIO 

river  were  opened  to  the  sunlight,  and  thriving  cities  and  smiling  vil- 
lages arose  on  the  ruins  of  the  mound  builders.  The  narrow  trails  of 
the  Indian,  deep  worn  for  centuries  by  the  tread  of  hunter  and  warrior, 
were  now  superseded  by  the  iron  rail  and  broad  highway.  The  hardy 
emigrants  and  their  descendants  subdued  the  wilderness,  and  with 
the  church,  the  school-house,  the  factory  and  the  plough  planted  a  civ- 
ilization on  the  ruins  of  a  fallen  barbarism. 

The  dominion  and  power  of  France  have  disappeared,  and  no  traces 
of  her  lost  sovereignty  exist,  save  in  the  few  names  she  has  left  on  the 
prominent  streams  and  landmarks  of  the  country,  and  in  the  leaden 
plates  which,  incribed  in  her  language  and  asserting  her  claims,  still  lie 
buried  on  the  banks  of  the  ''Beautiful  River." 

O.  H.  MARSHALL 


1  This  name  is  usually  spelled  Celeron,  but  incorrectly.  M.  Ferland,  in  his  Cours  d'Histoire 
du  Canada,  vol.  ii,  p.  493,  calls  him  Celoron  de  Blainville. 

"  Joncaire.     3  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  vi,  p.  604. 

4  The  Indian  name  of  Sir  William  Johnson.     It  signifies  "  Superintendent  of  Affairs." 

6  V  Penn.  Col.  Records,  p.  50S. 

6  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  ix,  p.  1097. 

1  This  observation,  like  most  of  those  taken  by  Father  Bonnecamps,  is  incorrect.  Either  his 
instruments  were  imperfect  or  his  methods  of  computation  erroneous.  The  true  latitude  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Conewango  is  less  than  410  50',  as  it  about  twelve  miles  south  of  the  boundary  line 
between  New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 

8  On  Crevecoeur's  Map  of  1758,  in  Depots  des  Cartes,  Ministere  de  la  Guerre,  Paris,  the  Cone- 
wango is  called  the  "  Chatacouin  "  as  far  down  as  its  junction  with  the  Allegany. 

9  Governor  Clinton,  in  his  address  before  the  New  York  Historical  Society  in  1811,  inquires  if 
the  Joncaire  met  by  Charlevoix  and  Washington  were  the  same.  They  could  not  have  been, 
for  the  one  mentioned  by  Charlevoix  died  in   1740. 

10  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  IX,    1025  ;  X,  ib.,  901. 

11  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  VII,  p.  267. 

12  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  VI,  pp.  532-3- 

13  See  Vol.  I.  pp.  747,  Magazine  of  American  History. 

14  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  X,  pp.  139.  !42,  245  and  247. 

15  Major  Long  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  in  his  second  expedition  to  the  St.  Peter's  River  in  1823, 

traveled  over  the  same  route. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

917.7M35C  C001 

DE  CELORON'S  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  OHIO  IN  1 


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